Prematurity Awareness Month

JR was considered a preemie, because he came at 35 weeks, right at the border of preemie and "normal".

I've never admitted it, but I do blame myself for the fact my water broke early. Perhaps I carried Little Dude too much, and he was too heavy for me. Perhaps chasing after our way-too-big German Shepard got me too worn out...perhaps I was doing to much, pushing too hard, and taking on too much stress.

Can I tell you I felt horribly stupid, scared, and completely, totally, over run with guilt I was when the doctor said I had a leak in JR's amnio sack, and I couldn't even tell him how long I might have had the leak?

So, of course, the only choice was to induce JR right then and there, since every minute there was a leak increased the chance of JR getting an infection, becoming terribly ill, or worse, dying.

And even though everyone says it wasn't my fault, I still feel like it was. My body failed at the one task is was made to do: provide a place for my baby to grow.
And as of now, the doctor has no idea what could have caused my water to break, but did warn me that I would be closely monitored if and when we have another child, because Little Dude also came early by a few weeks, and we certainly don't want it to be a pattern of having babies earlier and earlier.

But I'm lucky, my child is fine. I have a ton of online friends whose children have not been doing well, are still fighting day by day, or who have lost the fight to live in a world their little bodies weren't ready for yet.

Did you know 1 in 8 babies born in the US are preemies? And even though our medical advancements have grown by leaps and bounds, our numbers of premature births has increased significantly in the last decade?

So what can you do? The March of Dimes does extraordinary work to help preemies develop and grow after birth, and best of all, to help develop research and studies that can help keep babies inside their moms until they reach full term. You can learn more here: http://marchofdimes.com/prematurity/index_about.asp about how your donations can help with research, medical help, cost help, and support for preemies and their families.